Cheerful

Hi, I have been advised to look in this forum and post for some advice and experiences! We are in the early stages of considering a move to aus-myself, my husband and my three children-9,6 and 5. I am about to qualify as a nurse with a (hopefully first class, possibly 2:1 depending on results!) degree and already have a job lined up in the UK to finish my preceptorship in acute medical elderly. I have MILLIONS of questions!



Firstly, my husband is a SAHD at the moment-will my salary be enough to support us at least to begin with? He is currently doing a degree via distance learning, so this wouldn't be forever, but initially my salary would be the only one. He is interested in setting up a small business, he has a few ideas for this, to fit around the children-can he do this when we move (are there any restrictions on people who have just moved?) I have heard the costs of living are a lot more but when I have looked they don't seem to be so much higher-what taxes/rates are to be paid-is there something comparable to council tax? how about utilities, are they expensive?

Secondly, schools, my eldest child is on the autism spectrum (higher functioning), what is support like for children with additional needs? do they statement in Aus? How does the school system work, are the schools separated similar to UK with primary and secondary, what qualifications do children do (Sats? GCSEs? etc) my children want to go to uni will they be able to access student loans in the future-is it similar to UK system?


Healthcare-how does Medicare work, would you recommend any particular type of insurance, is it very expensive?

Areas to live-We are pretty flexible on this, we would rather not go too rural as we would like to be part of a community and get to know people, but would like a decent garden area to grow some veg and fruit, as well as an outdoor area for the children. we are not particularly city lovers, but would like to be within a reasonable distance from shops. we would like to be within a reasonable driving or even walking distance to the beach. Where would you recommend? I am slightly worried about snakes/spiders-not hysterically, but more for the children, who being quite young are quite curious and whilst I know it would be unusual to find any nasties unless looking for them, if we take proper precautions like pest spraying, cleaning, decluttering etc, and educating them on not touching, will it be very unlikely to get any visitors at least in the bedrooms?


Sorry for all the questions! Last one-for now! We are considering not moving furniture, as we don't have anything particularly sentimental or valuable, and buying new in Aus. Can I expect to pay a similar amount for items as in the UK so I can cost up?


Thank you so so much for reading a huge essay and thank you so much for any advice!

quoll

I think your first question is going to be can you get a visa? A child with autism could well be a deal breaker. There's a bit of a catch 22 - if your child is high functioning enough to get a visa then chances are they not going to get help in school (Aus doesn't do autism as well as UK it appears). You'd best be talking to one of the agents who specialize in medical conditions to see what your chances are - George Lombard or Peter Bollard are the two most mentioned in this regard.

Living on a single inexperienced nurse salary - wouldn't be something I would want to do. Most families need to be double income to finance the mortgage these days.

Most Aussies live in suburbs- the days of the quarter acre block are long gone so you may find yourself in a far flung suburb for a bit more garden. Beachside properties are usually pretty expensive because every man and his dog wants to live near the water.

Education - foreign system, quite different. Kids end up with degrees but you need to be citizens to access loans. Medicare - a co-pay system which will take money out of your pocket for doctors visits, medications, dental etc

I suggest you start with whether a move might even be possible and then look at where you might get a job because I'm not sure that all your aspirations are possible in one place. Good luck.

Beoz

Nothing is expensive in Australia if you are on the right salary. On the flipside everything is expensive if you are on the wrong salary.

Sound a bit like the UK?

There is no comparison anyone can give here unless you do you own research and pitch cost of living against what you are likely to earn. You can find everything you need on the internet including what you are likely to earn.

My advice is this.

1. Leave the exchange rate at the door. It won't help you one bit.

2. Work out what you currently earn now and tally up what you currently spend. Find out the equivalent in Australia. If the percentage of earnings to spend is similar then you are good to go. If 60% in the UK suddenly works out to be 90% in Australia then think again.

verystormy

I agree with quoll.

Living on a single junior nurse salary would be pretty tight!

Your husband can start a business when ever he wants. Do some research though on this in advance as the economy is struggling in some areas more than others. Also, not every business idea that might work in the UK would work in oz and some would work better in particular parts of oz.

Housing is generally expensive in most of oz. On your income, you are unlikely to be anywhere close to a beach. I live in the sort of area you describe - a ten minute drive to shops, a stroll to the beach, 50 mins from Perth and 15 mins from a small regional city. But, you would be looking at a rent of about $450 a week.

Medicare is similar to the NHS a, but doesn't cover everything so many people need some private insurance. As a minimum you need dental as dental costs can be horrendous here. A check up is about $200. Some states also charge for ambulances - even the most basic trip in an ambulance that involves no treatment will result in a $700 bill here in WA.

Higher education is similar to the UK, but, in order to access everything he would need to be a citizen, so, you need to be here 4 years with at least one of them as a permanent resident to apply for citizenship.

As mentioned, the autism is a major issue and could prevent a visa being granted and you need proffessional advice.

Beoz

In summary, don't move to WA hey?

Cheerful

Thank you for all your responses! I am very grateful particularly re my son, as this would of course be an instant deal breaker. I had no idea this would even be an issue :/


I think the main thing I need to know to be able to work out living costs is are there rates/council tax type bills I need to consider? Any other costs of living I might not be aware of (other than health insurance)?


I do appreciate the help, you must get asked this all the time!

Cheerful

Gosh, I have just seen how much of an issue this could be :/ DS would probably be described as having Asperger's (they don't diagnose this where I live now, its ASD). Maybe Aus isn't a good idea for us at all certainly as long term


I wonder if I would be granted a working holiday visa (surely I could take my DS with me for a year?)

mikelincs

Sorry but it's a no dependent visa, so your son could not accompany you.

Cheerful

Right :/ I think I will get some advice on from an agent on the PR Visa in that case and take it from there. I am so grateful this was pointed out to me early on, disappointed, but grateful! x


I will post back with updates Thanks again!

Globetrotta

Not wishing to rain on anyone's dreams here at all but as BEOZ stated best to leave the exchange rate alone and determine your own CPI basket of goods. For example to give a one off the other day I was looking at mens shower gel it was an Adidas 3 (you know us blokes one product does the lot type) anyway the local Coles supermarket it cost $5.99 including tax simple enough to convert to pre tax for comparison so $5.45. Now the exact same product at Boots International worked out at pre VAT $2.45 so $3 more. Now have done the CPI basket of goods comparison for friends in the USA anywhere from 30-200% more that was a year ago. This is basically food items. That having been said public transport is very affordable in both Melbourne and Adelaide based on experience given the conversion rate of $2 to 1 quid...its about 65 quid a month bargain when I was paying hell of a lot more 5 years ago. Honestly none of this means diddly without a job that pays you minimally $75K I would say for four of you best guess estimate but again depends where you live and commute. Good luck!

Cheerful

Thanks Globetrotta! I appreciate the reality check honestly, I am seeking advice on the visa first and foremost from an agent, and am wondering if I might be better doing my nurse practitioner course (if we can get a visa) first, because its going to be hard to guarantee a job for my hubby immediately over there-especially since we wont have a support network for child care. I was looking at housing around sunshine coast, parts of it seem fairly reasonable to me, initially we would rent I think so we could get a feel of the areas we want to live in. I wonder if anyone could confirm I haven't missed any expenses off please:
Rent/Mortgage
Utilities
Water (how does this work?)
Rates (is this like council tax? Rough estimate?)
House Insurance
Phone-house and mobile
TV (is there a TV license? is there cable/sky?)
Food
Car Insurance/Tax
Petrol
Medical Insurance
School (Is it true that state school you need to contribute some as well?)
Clothes/toys/misc items
Savings/rainy day fund
Household occasional expenses (not every month but need to consider)

Lastly, I have seen a lot of properties with solar panels for heating water and water tanks-I am guessing this is highly desirable, but would appreciate advice!

Thanks for all your help so far, I appreciate all your advice especially when it seems a visa might not be easy to get, but I want to be in a position to make an informed decision-especially before we start paying out a lot of money for the visa process!

Globetrotta

Right now having a more clear list I will chime in on some items here in Adelaide based costings which may or may not help.

Rent/Mortgage - average about $375-400 a week gets you a decent 2 bed condo.
Utilities - about $200 month for electric on average (this is taking AC into account from November to March - Winter we dont need it you will need AC in Queensland). Gas is on top of that about $100 we have gas hot water and stove.
Water (how does this work?) - Qtrly about $150 but SA water is the most expensive in country and is not privatised YET!
Rates (is this like council tax? Rough estimate?) Don't know about this one landlord sorts that out.
House Insurance $ Contents I used did ours $under $300 for a year I think it was $275 including fire and theft about 30K value Allianz
Phone-house and mobile
TV (is there a TV license? is there cable/sky?) No TV license and cable/sky is extra FOXTEL about $50 month
Food - a whopper but we cook in from scratch about $800 per month for two of us like I say we eat free range and cook in healthy and that includes all cleaning stuff its about that.
Car Insurance/Tax - no car! hey Im from London partner is from Melbourne who needs a car really.
Petrol - $1.45 litre petrol $1.50 Diesel just went up from $1.35 and $1.40 in a week.
Medical Insurance - Private thats about $100 for partner at 44 and I am at $175 at 55 but depends on coverage level.
School (Is it true that state school you need to contribute some as well?) - Cant comment.
Clothes/toys/misc items - Clothes I buy overseas and ship em in cheaper even with dollar and shipping.
Savings/rainy day fund - what savings wiped out seriously been tough - born with nout die with nout.
Household occasional expenses (not every month but need to consider) - examples needed!

Hope that helps!

astera

When looking at the costs I would adjust the basket not to include things like shower gels, soap, shampoo, toothpaste/mouthwash, washing powder/liquid, etc. unless you're factoring them in at 1/2 price. Hardly a month goes by when most of these aren't available at 50% off at either Coles or Woolworths.

The more stable costs are going to be meats, fruit & veg, juices, milk, transport, fuel, etc. and the optionals like eating out, booze (you could make a case here for stocking up as well), long-haul travel, etc.

As for telcos, your monthly mobile phone/pocket wifi costs will come out free if you use the Google Play store at all.

Globetrotta

Trying to decide how to reply to this, given your remarks. the fact that items go on sale here and at TESCO's is immaterial, the point there was to show an example of costs. It would be easy to show the comparative CPI between Australia and UK but then this too is misleading for each city differs there is regional pricing in both places. Adidas was merely an example even noted as such. Booze is not even in the standard CPI index FYI if you want to get picky.

If one attempted to compare milk here tom the UK one would need an entire thread on the innane derivations of milk. Anyone with a little effort can research each item online. Really being nit picky doesn't help over shower gel its an example of how ludicrous some items can be and is rarely on sale and the choices of say Adidas shower gel are limited here as comared to Boots one does not always find the same products one likes could be for example one prefers Radox that too is exorbitant. There is another point to that selection and choices can be limited based on each store carrying different items.